By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

Tragedies are an everyday occurrence in life.  Try as hard as we can, we can't seem to get away from them.  Some involve celebrities, so they are plastered all over the news.[2]  Others involve senseless acts of extreme violence that boggle the mind, and seem so "Helter Skelter-ish."[3]

Perhaps as we age, we spend time reflecting[4]; or maybe an event in our life triggers a recognition that life here on Earth is finite.[5]. Maybe the fires in Los Angeles—and before that in Lahaina, Hawaii—did that.  Or a tornado or hurricane or plane crash.[6]

How do we write about such issues, or reflect on them, without feeling or being maudlin?  Perhaps little children or puppies—the innocents—reinvigorate us, and give us a sense that "living" continues as it always has, in God's grand experiment called Life.[7]

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© 2025, Timothy D. Naegele

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[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass).  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6  and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/accomplishments/   He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at The Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service).  Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/ and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams.  He can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

[2]  See, e.g., https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14476303/Gene-Hackman-wife-Betsy-Arakawa-final-days-rat-disease.html ("Gene Hackman's wife Betsy's tragic final hours: How 65-year-old spent her last days after catching rat disease that would kill her and leave confused 95-year-old movie star to die alone") and https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14481901/gene-hackman-wife-betsy-arakawa-death-heartbreaking-reason-found.html ("Heartbreaking reason it took so long for Gene Hackman and wife to be found after their deaths")

[3]  See, e.g., https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14480863/Horror-Syrian-massacres-Video-footage-shows-brutal-executions-mutilations-carried-fighters-nations-new-rulers-wipe-hundreds-Assad-loyalists.html ("Horror of the Syrian massacres: Video footage 'shows brutal executions and mutilations carried out by fighters as nation's new Islamist rulers wipe out hundreds of Assad loyalists'") and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/global-chaos-and-helter-skelter/ ("Global Chaos And Helter Skelter")

[4]  See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2024/12/12/why-die/ ("Why Die?")

[5]  See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2024/01/23/the-wonder-dog-is-dead-and-part-of-me-died-with-her/ ("The Wonder Dog Is Dead, And Part of Me Died With Her")

[6]  See, e.g., https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14482397/Stricken-oil-tanker-essential-US-national-security-US-flagged-vessel-supplies-military-carrying-jet-fuel-hit-cargo-ship-burst-flames.html ("Stricken oil tanker is 'essential for US national security': US-flagged vessel supplies military and was carrying 142,000 barrels of jet fuel, sparking fears of mass environmental disaster")

[7]  See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/what-and-where-is-god/ ("What And Where Is God?")